Search-and-rescue costs soar as state weighs new fee increase

By Ali Longwell | The Aspen Times

While Colorado’s backcountry search-and-rescue missions have increased significantly in the past few decades, statewide funding for the volunteer-staffed programs across the state has struggled to keep up with the growth. 

A proposed fee increase before the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission next week aims to rectify this. As contemplated, it would increase a $0.25 surcharge — applied to most Parks and Wildlife licenses and registrations, including hunting and fishing licenses, as well as boat and off-highway vehicle permits — to $1.25 to bring it in line with inflation and the program’s needs today. 

The growth of Colorado’s backcountry search-and-rescue programs  

Colorado’s first formal mountain rescue team was created in 1947, just after World War II. Since then, with the growth of the state’s population, tourism, and outdoor recreation, many more teams have formed. 

Today, Colorado is home to around 50 backcountry search-and-rescue organizations, which are 100% volunteer-based and provide search-and-rescue services free of charge to individuals lost, injured, or stranded in the backcountry. 

While these organizations are county-based and coordinated through county sheriffs or county governments, Colorado Parks and Wildlife provides support from the statewide level, including training, funding, and a mental health program. 

As of January 2022, around 2,800 backcountry search-and-rescue volunteers were responding to approximately 3,600 search-and-rescue incidents a year. 

Perry Boydstun, Parks and Wildlife’s backcountry search-and-rescue program manager, likened the service to health insurance: “We don’t know that we need it until we need it.” 

While a critical service like other first responder agencies, search-and-rescue groups often lack the resources of these more traditional police and firefighting departments. 

“(Backcountry search-and-rescue) volunteers are asked to go out at any time of the day, night, leave their families, leave their jobs to volunteer, and oftentimes, spend their own money doing that,” Boydstun said “And they don’t have the luxuries that some of the other first responders do throughout the state and not wide amount of funding either.”

A 2022 report from Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported that each search-and-rescue volunteer spends roughly $2,000-$2,500 a year on training and equipment. In total, the volunteers spend roughly $5 million annually. On top of that, the groups require “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in operating costs, vehicles, search-and-rescue equipment, and technology. 

Historically, a surcharge placed on Parks and Wildlife licenses and registrations — alongside voluntary purchases of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue card — has filled Colorado’s Search and Rescue Fund, which allows the state to reimburse local search-and-rescue teams for rescue operations. At year’s end, the remaining funds are divided amongst the groups to purchase training and equipment. The fund currently generates between $500,000 and $600,000 annually. 

Outside of grants and reimbursements from this fund, Colorado backcountry search-and-rescue organizations rely on varying levels of county funding, federal funding, local fundraising efforts, and, in some cases, membership dues. 

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